There have been a wide variety of boxes receiving utility and design patents. These boxes have been made for many different purposes, from general storage to being fitted for specific and narrowly defined uses. Such boxes, however, cannot be easily altered, if in fact any alteration is possible, for uses different from those for which they were devised and constructed.
Williams (U.S. Des. No. 200,017) designed a decorative jewelry box that has a storage bar inside the cover, a padded or fabric lined tray and two padded or fabric lined drawers that open out from the front of the box. The jewelry box of Ax (U.S. Des. No. 203,305) has a divided upper tray and a swing-out lower semicircular partitioned tray that could be considered a secret compartment.
Gigliuto (U.S. Des. No. 212,661) has designed a vanity case with a mirror on the inside of the cover. The upper portion of the box is made up of a series of compartments of different dimensions. Below are two layers of drawers that open from the front of the box. The front side of the drawers and upper compartments are transparent so that their contents are visible from the front of the box.
The tool box of Perkins (U.S. Des. No. 264,896) is a tall box with a lid that opens to rest at the back of the box and which contains a compartment which is closed by a hinged panel. The front of the box is hinged and opens outward exposing a large chamber containing a shelf with holes to support tools and a sectioned tray resting on the bottom. Beneath this chamber is a sectioned drawer that opens from the front of the box, beneath the hinged front portion. Lin's tool box (U.S. Des. No. 281,837) also has a lid that opens all the way back so it is out of the way of access to the contents of the upper single chamber. The front of the box is hinged and opens completely to hang downward from the surface on which the box rests. There are three levels of small drawers and one large covered drawer that are exposed when the front is lowered.
Powell (U.S. Des. No. 319,155) develped a jewelry armoire that opens from the center front with two doors that are each flamed from within and have hooks at the top and a fabric pouch at the bottom. There are four compartmented trays or drawers within the main chamber. The tackle storage system of Maimanger (U.S. Des. No. 335,577) has a compartmented front panel that opens down to reveal a series of drawers.
None of the aforementioned boxes has any flexilibility as to the arrangements of the drawers or sections. They are all designed for a specific purpose and can only be used for another purpose if the items to be stored therein are similar to those for which the boxes were originally designed.
The compartmented storage box of Papp (U.S. Des. No. 333,487) has two removable trays and a sectioned bottom. It is possible to use the box without one or both trays but the sculptured sections in the bottom designed to hold pastels cannot be removed.
The travel case of Gilbert (U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,529) and the Christmas tree trim cabinet of Roach, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,461) have a series of drawers or trays that can be removed, but both inventions are not really designed to be used without the drawers since permanently mounted flanges support them.
There is a necessity for a storage box that allows the user to choose the interior arrangement to fit the needs of the moment and which can be changed to accommodate changing times and needs. There is also a necessity for a box that can be used to commemorate a specific event or to remember a particular person by having a picture or special printed matter such as an invitation or personal message on the outside of the box as well as a scene or verse. There is also a need for a box that can be so arranged as to provide hidden sections to store private notes or other materials.